Letters

Disruptive Students

I am now a Title I teacher, but keenly remember what it was like to have students in the classroom who were chronically disruptive (Debate, January).

One of them qualified for state placement in a special program, but because there wasn't any space for him in such a program, he was kept in my classroom. After our class suffered through his behavior for about four months, he finally was transferred to another classroom.

When the receiving teacher found out that this child was entitled to a special program but was not enrolled in one, that teacher threatened to sue the district on the student's behalf. In no time the student was transferred to a neighboring district and placed in a special program.

The key to removing such a student is to emphasize that it is best for the child. One must stress that the child's needs cannot be met in the regular classroom.

Mary Jo Straub
Edina, Minnesota

In my brief career as a teacher I also have realized the amount of attention good students miss out on because disruptive students take it all.

I agree that these disruptive students need to be placed in separate classes. The argument that these students have a disability is a good one. However, I wasn't trained, nor is my school system training me, to help them. Therefore, I can't give them the proper education they deserve.

The most important point is that good students have been neglected for years. When will it be time for them to receive their proper education? When do we work on challenging the good students, not "dumbing down" so the "special children" don't feel out of place?

If I were a parent of a regular or gifted child, I would be complaining to teachers and administration to find out what they are doing to improve my child's education. If there was a child in my child's class who was taking away from his or her education, I would be very upset and want to know what would be done to fix the situation.

I'm not saying that these special children should be forgotten. That is the last thing I want to happen. I think they should be placed with a teacher who is trained to help them succeed. Hopefully the child will learn to control, fix, and/or understand his or her situation.

Bill Kryscynski
Hamilton, Indiana

At the beginning of the semester I asked that a continuously disruptive student be removed from my classroom. I had followed my usually successful methods, which included conferences in the hallway, phone calls home, and discussions with administrators and counselors. I consulted with other more veteran teachers, and they were having similar problems with the same student.

The disruptions advanced to the destruction of classroom displays of students' work. Eventually, this student hit me in the head in front of the entire class. When I "wrote him up," the administration took no action against him, even though the student handbook required a five-day suspension.

This would have been my fourth year of teaching in this building, and I always had support in the past. The new administration chose to ignore my pleas for help with this student and warnings of his potential violent nature. This administration even told me that they couldn't handle this student either. What did they expect me to do with 35 other students in this class and one totally out of control student?

So, my answer to your question, "Should teachers have the authority to remove disruptive students from their classes permanently?" is an emphatic "yes!"

Carol Bone
Ypsilanti, Michigan

Creative Writing
As a licensed English teacher, I believe using writing projects as punishment for wrongdoing is, in itself, a wrongdoing (Dilemma, October). Creative writing should be encouraged as a positive outlet for young people's mental and emotional growths, and not treated as a compositional slap on the hand. I have seen some of the poorly written papers students submit to professors of college-level courses. Negative attitudes and bad memories about formal writing are, in my opinion, at the core of these substandard writing skills.

Candis Wiste
Caledonia, Minnesota

High School Hope
Four stars for Alain Jehlen's article "Recipe for a Great School" (February cover story). The Wyandotte High School story gives us a sense of hope. It's reassuring to read that it is possible to make things better. Every struggling, frustrated teacher who has listened to the reform gurus and outside experts longs for the opportunity to see progress in his individual school. This article makes it seem possible. We no longer have to feel defeated and believe that nothing can be done to fix what is wrong.

The final touch, which suggests that teachers and staff are growing flowers in the courtyard, is a perfect metaphor for the piece. They also are nurturing flowers in the classroom, and we can vicariously celebrate their success.

Bill Harshbarger
Arcola, Illinois

Social Security
I was very happy to see the article on the Social Security pension offset in the February issue (Retiring on Next to Nothing). I have been trying to get school district employees in Nevada aware of this for some time now because so many educators come from other states to work here and expect Social Security will be part of their retirement profile. Please continue to have updates on this very important issue for us.

Nancy Poniewaz
Las Vegas, Nevada

I was pleased to read the article about the work being done to get Congress to repeal the two offset provisions. In 1992 I sent a petition with 3,000 signatures to then chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, Bill Archer. Former Congressman Archer is now retired and receives his full congressional salary as a pension. Apparently, in his opinion, this is not fiscally unsound, as his letter implied he felt the repeal would be.

Barbara Phillips
Shenandoah, Texas

Sports Try-Outs
I realize most sports have space limitations when it comes to cutting students, but as a cross-country and track coach I witness firsthand the character development and physical and emotional gains athletes experience in non-cut sports such as swimming and diving (Dilemma, November).

The lack of bench time is unique to these sports. The proverbial "pine" is not a reality. Instead, everyone gets a chance to practice and compete. As a result, the camaraderie between athletes is different because athletes are not left on the side wondering what it is like to compete. They truly share in the experience.

I hope you will consider such a story to help promote an increased participation in these sports. The data is clear that athletics can have a positive effect on students. Non-cut sports can fill a gap for athletes cut from other sports and offer opportunities for students who want try something without worrying about not being able to participate.

Walter Gorski
El Cerrito, California

Leaning to the Left
As a current events teacher, I strive to teach my students to detect subtle (and not-so-subtle) bias in news reporting. The left-leaning tilt of NEA Today provides good examples for the classroom, such as the January article "Pro-Education Governors Elected."

While the article mentions that the NEA supported several Republican candidates, it attempts to de-monize unfavorable Republicans as "conservative" or "strongly conservative." Does NEA Today ever characterize its so-called "pro-education" Democrat friends as "liberal" or "strongly liberal?" I have yet to read that.

As a moderately conservative Republican member of the NEA, I find this consistent leftward tilt amusing at best and infuriating at worst.

Ken Koncerak
California, Pennsylvania

Leaving Teaching
As I read the February edition, I could not help but relate to the remarks made by both Karen Hertz (Letters) and Bob Chase (President's Viewpoint). I work in a school with a high rate of poverty. We feel the pressure of low test scores, and we worry about our students advancing in a world that is so demanding.

We are receiving additional training to help us understand poverty and find ways to help our students succeed. Even as we take these extra steps and spend these extra hours training and preparing, we can't help but have a strong feeling that it is not only the staff who should be responsible for these students' education. Shouldn't the parents and students be putting in the extra time and effort?

Congress has decided that teachers need to be held accountable. What about the students? Shouldn't they have the motivation to do the best that they can do?

My parents held me accountable for my grades until I was old enough to hold myself accountable. This does not appear to be the trend today. Is education so unimportant to parents that their children are placing the same value on it? Right now, in my area, I feel that is true.

I propose that Congress hold students responsible for their test scores. I am not saying that teachers should not be held responsible, but I do think that it should be a partnership.

If the students are motivated to do their best on a standard achievement test, then they will be more invested and try harder. The teachers are working very hard to teach the materials and meet all of the state standards to prepare students for the tests. However, if students take the tests and don't see the value, then many times they do not try their hardest.

If teachers get this type of support, maybe we will feel less stress and less of a desire to give up on our dreams of teaching. Maybe we will be able to keep the experienced teachers teaching instead of jumping from a sinking ship. Maybe we will be more successful with our future generations. Maybe our students will be responsible learners.

Brenda Powers
Alton, Illinois

Zero Tolerance
In response to the debate on zero tolerance, I think that we have to first address what fairness means (Debate, February). If one child in your class needs special help in a subject, you give it to him or her. Fairness is not about giving every child the same thing; it is about giving each child what he or she needs.

Therefore, the zero tolerance policy is an inherently unfair procedure in that it treats all children the same. Worse than that, zero tolerance policies overshadow prevention programs, leading administration to focus only on reacting with standardized responses.

We need proactive, individualized programs. We can still be "tough" without punishing every child in the same way. I am not saying that students should not be held accountable for their actions--they should. However, zero tolerance policies provide a quick fix instead of a planned, thoughtful intervention program. Long-term planning and effective interventions may be tougher to implement, but they are what will truly make a difference in children's lives through and beyond school.

Andrea Light
State College, Pennsylvania

It seems to me that "zero tolerance" is more of the same simplistic responses to a myriad of not-so-simple problems. "Zero tolerance" is just that, "no tolerance." "No tolerance" is the extreme of "intolerance." Is that what we are trying to teach our students?

Holding students to reasonable and high standards for behavior does not mean being intolerant of mitigating circumstances and reasonable differences in judgment and perception of situations. Justice, fairness, mercy, and personal responsibility need not be mutually exclusive.

Michael Carrubba, Jr.
North Granby, Connecticut

In his opposition to "zero tolerance" disciplinary policies, Richard Ehret Sr. stated: "But under zero tolerance, if you violate a policy, you are out. How is anyone supposed to get a fair hearing in such a case?" The fairness lies in the fact that a specified, prescribed act will bring the same consequence, regardless of gender, age, race, political leanings, religion, socioeconomic class, or other classifications.

There's a legal term for the concept: "strict liability." The doctrine of strict liability says that there are some acts that are dangerous enough, harmful enough, or costly enough that if one undertakes them, he or she accepts full liability for the consequences. The fairness in the policy is two-fold. First, it asks only one question: Did the student do it? Second, if the answer to the above question is "yes," then the consequence is the same for all who commit that act. If it's not, the problem is not in the rule, but in its faulty application by an administrator not acting in good faith.

Greg Grant
Dublin, California